UNC in Gloster's Top Five

After mulling over his ever-growing list of scholarship offers the last few weeks, Troy Gloster has narrowed his main focus to Boston College, Michigan, North Carolina, Stanford, and West Virginia.

"The main thing, I'm just glad they took a shot at me," Gloster said. "But it was really the coaching staff – all their coaches have visited me and have been showing a lot of love. Also, most of those schools are really good academically."

Gloster, a 6-foot, 215-pound linebacker from Olney (Md.) Good Counsel, says he doesn't have a leader and isn't sure when he'll take the next step and make a verbal commitment.

"At first I was trying to maybe decide before the season or maybe sometime in the early season," Gloster said. "But, I'm just really unsure about things. I'm not going to make a timetable; I'm just going to take my time and whatever time is right then I will commit."

A little over a month ago, UNC surprised Gloster, who grew up a UNC basketball fan, with a scholarship offer.

"When I found out, I was really excited," Gloster said. "It was one of my first couple of offers, so it was definitely very exciting.

"[Until the offer] I had never received mail [from UNC]. So when the offer came in, I was shocked."

John Blake is handling Gloster's recruitment for UNC. Gloster says he has had two phone conversations with Blake – when he was initially offered by UNC and a couple weeks ago.

"He lets me know that they're really looking at me, they're real interested, and they want me," Gloster said. "He said I could either play middle linebacker or outside linebacker."

Gloster said he is a little leery about UNC's depth at linebacker – the Tar Heels' coaching staff has signed four in each of the past two recruiting classes.

"Wherever I go, I want an opportunity to play somewhat early," Gloster said.

In addition to early playing time, Gloster is looking for a school with a good academic reputation and where he feels comfortable.

UNC has offered scholarships to two of Gloster's teammates – Frank Tamakloe and Louis Young.

"Louis, actually, is one of my best friends," Gloster said. "… We've definitely talked about [committing to the same school]. We're thinking about maybe taking visits together to a couple schools. [Where he commits to] is definitely a factor."

Gloster and Young plan to make several recruiting trips over the summer together. Gloster says including UNC among those summer trips is "definitely a possibility."

"I have family down in the South Carolina area so why not drive through to North Carolina and stay in South Carolina?" Gloster said.

Gloster has made several visits to Maryland to see his brother, Drew, who is a junior linebacker. He has also made trips to Pittsburgh, Virginia, and Virginia Tech.

Gloster didn't begin playing football until his freshman year. One year later, he became a starter at outside linebacker for Good Counsel. As a junior, he recorded 60 tackles and nine sacks.